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Maria Jose Cristerna's striking appearance may generate gasps, but the 35-year-old tattoo artist reportedly says a horrific history of domestic violence triggered her decision to re-invent herself as a "vampire."

Cristerna recently showed off a new set of titanium "horn" implants -- along with dental "fangs" and multiple facial piercings -- at a Monterrey tattoo exhibition, but insists she lives a normal life. "The horns I have are a symbol of strength and were implanted without anaesthetic," the Catholic-raised mother-of-four tells the Sun proudly. "I had the fangs done because I loved vampires as a little girl and I changed the colour of my eyes so they were how I really wanted them to be.'

Yet Cristerna's transformation is still not complete: she says she wants to have more titanium horns implanted in the back of her head. "Tattooing is my way of being immortal, of really being a vampire and not dying -- leaving my work on other people's skin."